QUICKIE -- Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice - Ultimate Edition

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a 2016 American superhero film featuring the DC Comics characters Batman andSuperman. Directed by Zack Snyder and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film is a follow-up to 2013's Man of Steel and is the second installment in the DC Extended Universe. It was written by Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer, and features an ensemble cast that includes Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter and Gal Gadot. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the first live-action film to feature Batman and Superman together, as well as the first live-action cinematic portrayal of Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg. In the film, criminal mastermind Lex Luthor manipulates Batman into a preemptive battle with Superman, whom Luthor is obsessed with defeating.

A director's cut, dubbed the Ultimate Edition with 30 minutes of additional footage, was released digitally on June 28, 2016, and on Blu-ray and DVDon July 19, 2016.

Plot:

Bruce Wayne arrives in Metropolis during the Battle of Metropolis. He tries to proceed to the Wayne Financial Building, giving the order via phone for the people inside to evacuate. As he drives his way to the building, he narrowly avoids the debris from the crashing Fortress of Solitude with Superman and Zod inside. He witnesses the Black Zero as Kal-El's Phantom Drive crashes into it and crushes the Black Zero into a singularity. As Superman and General Zod begin to fight, Zod throws Superman into the Wayne Financial Building and Zod's uncontrollable heat vision causes the building to collapse in ruin. Horrified, Bruce makes his way through the debris looking for survivors, finding Wallace Keefe trapped underneath some rubble. He helps rescue him then saves a little girl whose mother perished. While consoling her, he angrily watches Zod and Superman fly down from the sky.

18 months later, Lois Lane travels to war-torn Nairobi in Kenya, seeking an interview with the African warlord in a raging civil war. Lois was accompanied by Jimmy Olsen, a photographer who is revealed to be a CIAoperative. The camera he was carrying had a tracking device hidden inside as discovered by a bodyguard, Anatoli Knyazev. Before being shot, he states that Lois knew nothing of either the device or his identity. The warlord then takes Lois as a hostage, threatening to kill her. Superman soon arrives, saving Lois and returning her home.

A US Senate committee headed by Senator Finch hears evidence given about Superman saving the life of Lois Lane in Africa. Concerned at how Superman may be seen by the public, due to his constant acts of vigilantism, she sends a public announcement to Superman, inviting him to speak in a committee to defend his actions at the US Capitol in Washington D.C.

Lois recovered a bullet from the warlord's camp, and after researching, ascertains that it is not made by any known manufacturer. She proceeds to query this with General Calvin Swanwick. Reluctantly, he gives in to her requests to identify the bullet's manufacturer. He reveals that they are a special prototype round, made by LexCorp Industries. Senator Finch speaks with Lex Luthor, informing him that she is blocking an import warrant for him to bring a portion of Kryptonite found in the Indian Ocean into the United States. Luthor, warns her of the consequences and she then leaves his mansion.

While the rest of the world is busy debating whether Superman has been a positive or negative addition to planet Earth, Clark returns home to Smallville to visit Martha. There, she advises him that either way, he shouldn't be concerned with what others think of him.

Despite media speculation to the contrary, Superman arrives to speak and answer at Finch's committee. She points out to him a victim of Superman's actions, Wallace Keefe, who lost his legs in Superman's battle withGeneral Zod. After seeing a distasteful note left for her by Lex Luthor, she stops in mid-speech before a bomb (hidden inside Keefe's wheelchair by Lex Luthor) explodes, killing her and everyone else present, except Superman. Later that night, Lex discovers that Batman has stolen his kryptonite from LexCorp in Metropolis, leaving behind a batarang as a symbol. In Washington D.C., Superman meets Lois at her hotel suite and laments on his failures to stop the bombing and his role as Superman. Lois tries to convince him that he must remain a symbol of hope for the peoples of Earth before he flies away in exile. Using the fingerprints of Zod, Lex enters the Genesis Chamber of the Fortress of Solitude in Heroes Park and learns information on hundreds of thousands of recorded worlds.

Bruce Wayne begins physically training in the Batcave to prepare for his fight against Superman while also converting the kryptonite into three gas grenades and a kryptonite-tipped spear. While accessing Lex's data drive, he discovers folders on metahumans, one containing recent surveillance on Diana and a 1918 photograph of her as Wonder Woman in Belgium. Meanwhile, Lex brings the corpse of General Zod to the Genesis Chamber and Kelor warns him of the ban of genetic modification by the Kryptonian Law Council. However, Lex ignores this and combines his blood with Zod as the Genesis Chamber begins to transform the body of Zod.

Clark arrives at a snowy mountaintop and imagines his father, Jonathan Kent, building a tomb with stones. Kent recalls his childhood when he remembers one bad rainy season when he and his family spent all-night damming the water to save the farm. Kent remembers that his mother called him a hero and baked him a cake and, while he was eating, the neighbour's farm was wiped out and he could hear the neighbour's horses drowning. He continued that he used to have nightmares about the horses. Clark asks if the nightmares ever stopped, and Jonathan answers when he met Martha Kent, who gave him hope that there is good in the world. Bruce visits the ruins of the Wayne Manor as Alfred tries to dissuade him from combating Superman to no avail. Bruce recalls when his father sat him down next to the Wayne family shield and his father taught him of the first generation of the Wayne family that sold pelts and skins to French traders, citing that they were hunters.

In Smallville, Martha Kent is kidnapped by Anatoli Knyazev and his men and is brought to Metropolis. In Gotham, Batman prepares his weapons against Superman and shines the Bat Signal in the stormy sky, as Lex watches from the LexCorp tower from across the bay. Anatoli also kidnaps Lois Lane and delivers her to Lex, who then pushes her off the tower to lure Superman. Superman saves her and puts her down on the ground before flying up to confront Lex Luthor. He then shows Superman photographs of his kidnapped mother, and offers an ultimatum to him: if he does not kill Batman within 30 minutes, then Martha Kent will die by fire.

At Heroes Park, the Fortress of Solitude begins to emit electric discharges to the surrounding buildings. Elsewhere, Diana receives an email from Bruce, showing a photograph of her from 1918, questioning her identity and her origins. In the attachment, she uncovers surveillance footage of Barry Allen, Arthur Curry, and video diaries of Silas Stone using a Mother Box to resuscitate his son, Victor Stone. As Lois returns to the Daily Planet, she rides a helicopter straight for the Bat Signal in Gotham in hopes of stopping the fight.

In Gotham, Superman meets Batman in his Armored Batsuit and tries to explain the situation. However, Batman does not bother to listen as he activates sonar cannons and machine gun turrets against Superman to no visible effect. Superman and Batman then begin to fight, with Batman firing two kryptonite gas grenades at him during the fight and gaining the upper hand. Finally, Batman grabs the weakened Superman and drags him over to his kryptonite spear. However, as Batman is about to kill Superman, Superman mutters that they are going to kill Martha. Taken aback, Lois arrives and explains that Martha is his mother's name. Shocked, Batman comes to his senses, realizing that Superman is no threat to humanity. Superman and Lois explain the situation to Batman, and he promises to rescue Martha Kent while Superman investigates the electric discharges coming from the Fortress of Solitude and confronts Lex. Lois grabs the kryptonite spear and throws it into a pool of water nearby to dispose of it.

Alfred tracks Knyazev's phone to a warehouse in Metropolis, and Batman flies there via the Batwing. He infilitrates the warehouse, neutralizes all the criminals, kills Anatoli Knyazev and successfully rescues Martha. Meanwhile, Superman finds Lex Luthor at the Genesis Chamber and upon learning Superman has not killed Batman, calls Anatoli. He is surprised when Batman is on the other line instead and realizes Martha is safe. Lex then executes his backup plan: unleashing an ancient Kryptonian deformity known as Doomsday. As the monster awakens, it roars at Lex Luthor before reaching out to kill him. However, Superman stops his attack and Doomsday breaks out of the Fortress of Solitude into Heroes Park while Lex stays behind.

Superman promptly confronts Doomsday, and the two battle one another, destroying the Superman Statue in the process. Doomsday's strength surpasses that of Superman, but the the Man of Steel holds his own, managing to send the monster flying into a building. Doomsday is then shot at by military helicopters, but his body takes it all, adapting and only becoming more durable.

In desperation, Superman tackles Doomsday into space. The US President intends to shoot the alien monster down with a nuclear missile, and it is carried out, despite the protests of Swanwick. Superman defiantly holds Doomsday in place as he sees the missile approach, determined to have the monster destroyed. The resulting explosion is so gigantic, that Batman can clearly see it from Earth's surface.

Doomsday's body lands on the abandoned Stryker's Island, but he is far from dead, as the tremendous explosion seems to have only made the monster stronger, with its body once again regenerating. Batman then attacks it with his Batwing, unleashing an immense amount of firepower, but Doomsday is unscathed, and brings the plane down with his heat vision and breath. Before Batman can escape his crashed vehicle, Doomsday corners him, and fires a tremendous superheated torrent at him. Wonder Woman arrives, however, just in time to save Batman, deflecting the beams with her indestructible bracelets, which creates a massive wave of energy outwards.

In the meantime, Superman is floating in space, with him being extremely weakened by the nuclear missile, rendered thin and undead in appearance. Soon, however, he is exposed to radiation from the yellow sun, which reinvigorates Superman's cells, returning him to full power. He then proceeds to defiantly fly towards Doomsday again, sending the monster flying into a gas tank.

Wonder Woman and Superman then proceed to jointly attack Doomsday in tandem, while Batman tries to expose the monster to Kryptonite, which would exploit its only known vulnerability. Wonder Woman soon manages to cut off the monster's right hand, but that only results in a sharp bony protrusion growing back in its place.

In the meantime, Lois is in Gotham, unsuccessfully trying to retrieve the Kryptonite Spear from underwater. Superman is able to hear her drowning, and flies off to rescue her from drowning, helping her retrieve the spear in the process, while Wonder Woman has manages to temporarily restrain Doomsday with her indestructible lasso. Superman sees that the only way to stop Doomsday is to risk his own life. Hence, he says a tender goodbye to Lois with a kiss, before taking hold of the spear and flying back to the battle scene, exposed to the substance himself in the process.

He stabs Doomsday in the chest with the Kryptonite Spear, but since the weapon did not manage to fully pierce the monster, Doomsday is able to stab Superman in return, piercing the latter's chest with his arm bone protrusion. A desperate and mortally wounded Superman uses the leverage to further impale Doomsday with the spear, finally killing the creature, though dying himself in the process. A shocked and saddened Batman promptly arrives, and retrieves Superman's lifeless body, enveloping him in his own cape, shortly before the arrival of a devastated Lois.

Superman is given a symbolic funeral with an empty casket in Heroes Park in Metropolis, while the funeral of Clark Kent is held in Smallville, with Father Daniel Leone presiding over it, and with Pete Ross and Lana Lang also being in attendance. An after function is held at Martha's home. Lois is in Clark's bedroom when Martha enters. She gives Lois a letter, revealing to her that Clark had intended to propose to her.

Still at the cemetery, Bruce and Diana share a conversation about bringing the other metahumans together, in case a threat of that scale ever should arise, honoring Superman's heroic sacrifice. Diana questions the necessity and inquires why Bruce is proposing it. He replies that it is simply due to a feeling he has that things will inevitably get worse.

Clark's coffin is then shown, with the handful of dirt (scattered on it by Lois) beginning to rise into the air, implying that Superman might still be alive.

ULTIMATE EDITION

Additions:

- There is a brief shot of the gun being leveled at Martha’s face.

- During the Battle of Metropolis, Bruce Wayne witnessed a teacher leading a group of children through the streets.

- In Nairomi, the man who was shot in the original version is confirmed to be Jimmy Olsen.

- To clarify the accusation against Superman in Nairomi, it is revealed that before fleeing, Knyazev and his men murder the warlord's men and the villagers, before immolating their corpses and escaped before arriving moments later, and the Man of Steel was framed for the murder.

- The CIA launched a drone to bomb the compound, but the drone was destroyed by Superman when he arrived.

- Lois Lane comes to the MCPD where an analyst (played by Jena Malone) studies the bullet for her.

- In the original version, the newsman depicts that "a Bat brand in prison, essentially means death". Later, the man Santos who was branded by the Batman was murdered in the prison by other inmates, confirming that Batman was actually sending death sentences.

- Superman helps the Paramedics in aiding the survivors of the blast

- When Batman visits Luthor in prison, he told him that Luthor was to be sent to Arkham Asylum in Gotham

Cast:

Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne / Batman
Henry Cavill as Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman
Amy Adams as Lois Lane
Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor
Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth
Diane Lane as Martha Kent
Laurence Fishburne as Perry White
Holly Hunter as Senator June Finch
Gal Gadot as Diana of Themyscira / Diana Prince / Wonder Woman
Scoot McNairy as Wallace Keefe
Tao Okamoto as Mercy Graves
Ezra Miller as Barry Allen / The Flash
Jason Momoa as Orin / Arthur Curry / Aquaman
Ray Fisher as Victor Stone / Cyborg
Joe Morton as Silas Stone
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Thomas Wayne
Lauren Cohan as Martha Wayne
Brandon Spink as young Bruce Wayne
Robin Atkin Downes as Doomsday
Harry Lennix as General Swanwick
Christina Wren as Carrie Farris
Michael Cassidy as Jimmy Olsen
Michael Shannon as General Zod
Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent

Ultimate Edition

Jena Malone as Jenet Klyburn
Ahman Green as Inmate Thug
C.T. Fletcher as Inmate Thug

The Verdict: 

Here we go again...

I’m not going to rehash what I said about this film the first go-round as you can go revisit my review on the theatrical release here. Instead, I'm going to merely comment and analyze the additional content in this version of the film and how it weighs in to what we were given in the original theatrical release. Instead of retreading familiar territory, I’m just going to comment on the changes in this version since a friend kindly asked if I could review this DVD/Blu-Ray release with additional content.

To be honest, my opinion on the film doesn’t change at all. If anything the additional content makes the film come off even more convoluted than the original theatrical release did.

First of all, the film’s additional content starts off with “Jimmy Olsen” or the CIA agent who was undercover with Lois Lane at the start of the film being identified under the codename of “Talon” by his fellow operatives. Savvy DC Comics fans will be quick to point out that Talon was a member of the Court of Owls from the popular Batman storyline of the same name. If I’m honest, I don’t think Zack Snyder is that smart to tease that this early in this film for a future appearance in a solo Batman film. Instead, I think he’s just name dropping and teasing concepts just to make it appear that he’s “smart” and “edgy”. It’s the exact same opinion I have on the dream Batman/Bruce Wayne has later on where it’s almost spot on Insurgency versus the Regime from Injustice: Gods Among Us with Evil Superman.

I know what you're thinking... Zack Snyder put in a throwaway Court of Owls reference in this film? I guess that's why Gotham (TV series) is rushing to introduce this concept into their show before it's off limits when the Extended Universe gets around to it. It was bad enough that Snyder made Jimmy Olsen a throwaway character as a sick joke in this film, but a bigger slap to the face for Batman fans, especially given how of an impact that the Court of Owls have in Batman's mythology nowadays. It just adds more onto the pile of content in this movie that Warner Bros. and DC Comics have blown their loads on.

Even though I watched Man of Steel again this past holiday weekend, I honestly don’t remember Major Ferris being referenced in the US military. Yes, the same Ferris or rather Carol Ferris (credited as "Carrie" Ferris in the credits here) who eventually becomes on-again, off-again Green Lantern villain Star Sapphire – depending on the continuity.

There was a little more interaction between Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince before the film’s finale in this version but it still doesn’t justify nor warrant Wonder Woman’s borderline irrelevant role in this film. She’s still just here looking for a PHOTO – that’s it. Maybe I don't remember it in the theatrical release, but I don't remember Bruce and Diana having a lot of interaction before the ending of the film outside of their meeting in the museum. It still doesn't do much for the development of Diana's character, nor justify her being in this movie only just to "look cool" alongside Superman and Batman in the film's finale.

Even though I got ahead of myself a little, I want to mention Bruce Wayne’s other “dream” or rather a premonition. The Flash comes from the future with a warning for Bruce, but in this cut of the film, there’s more dialogue to help explain this. I don’t understand  why that was cut out of the theatrical release as it actually made more sense of this scene.

The Flash: “Am I too soon??? You have to find us, Bruce!! You were always right about him! Lois is the key!!”

This could be the one omission from the theatrical release that might cause DC/WB to kick themselves in the long haul as it honestly serves as a bit of great foreshadowing. The Flash mentioning that he that he came too soon (busts out laughing as I typed that…) is something that could be explored in the Justice League follow-up film as the League wants to warn themselves in the past of the pending threat on the horizon – in which would be more likely a revived “evil” Superman under the control of Steppenwolf or Darkseid’s forces. I was shocked that they threw out this ONE bit of vital dialogue. It seems like they are foreshadowing to sending The Flash back in time to warm Bruce of the pending doom of Evil Superman in the veins of Injustice: Gods Among Us. Alternatively, they could be teasing Flashpoint here and that could be another reason why The Flash TV series on The CW is rushing to get that out of the way now before it's off-limits.

Clark actually does reporter work in this cut. He actually goes to Gotham and does his own research on the Bat Brand and what it means to criminals who are marked. Luthor's henchmen set up Batman to take the fall by murdering one of the criminals who had been marked recently to play up the "mark of death" rumor befalling Batman's reputation. This was rather clever I have to admit. Luthor framed both heroes to make them antagonize each other by devaluing their own morals in the eye of the other. Batman's brand of justice - literally - is a mark of a murderer in more ways than one, while Superman's power is too much for one man to command without restraint. 

That being said though... Batman still comes across as a complete moron. All of Luthor's plotting is going on in his own city as well as Metropolis and he's pretty much oblivious to it along with his own employee becoming one of Luthor's pawns. With Batman actually killing people in this film even adds more fuel to the fire to add to the mistrust Superman has to the Batman character, so Bruce's own actions add to his own stupidity. In both cuts of this film, he thinks of no other option outside of killing Superman.

The African woman in opening testimonial confesses to Senator that she was bribed by Lex Luthor to frame Superman but silenced by hitman before the truth gets out. This adds to Luthor's masterful manipulation of framing both Batman and Superman in a less favorable light to the mass media and public eye.

Lois figures out that Lex has framed Superman on her own, thanks to some help from Jenet Klyburn of S.T.A.R. Labs, portrayed by Jena Malone. Jenet deduces that the foreign metal bullet in Lois' bag and the wheelchair bomb were made of the same mineral. They were lined with lead so Superman couldn't see it. This brings up another whopper of a question... How the HELL does Lex Luthor know this when the extent of Superman's powers and more importantly, his weaknesses were haven't been explored in this continuity yet!!?? If Lex Luthor was this damn smart, he shouldn't have needed Batman and Superman to kill each other. Instead, he could have beaten them himself after doing this much manipulating behind the scenes along with knowing their secret identities.

In this cut of the film, Superman actually saves the survivors after the explosion at the courthouse. This was what this film needed. More examples of Superman doing good things with his powers. The single montage in the theatrical cut wasn't good enough and it was in very bad taste to have Superman just leave after the courthouse blew up without doing a damn thing about it. At least in this cut, he stuck around to assist with getting the survivors in the explosion medical attention. This scene alone makes Batman look even stupider as he immediately jumps to the conclusion to kill Superman after he took the time to save the survivors.

Here's another question I have... Why didn't the Kryptonian ship defenses attack Lex like it did Lois in Man of Steel? That's one lingering plot hole that's so big that you could drive ten of the Yaegers from Pacific Rim through it all at once.


Quis Custodiet ipsos custodes - "Who will watch the watchmen? | Who guards the guardians?"

This is written on the wall of the church where Batman fights Superman and can be seen on several billboards throughout the film. It's common knowledge that director Zack Snyder worked on the Watchmen film but the Justice League have had similarities to that story for years now. It was a nice touch to echo that story's message here, especially during the clash between Superman and Batman.

Watch It or Don't Bother?

For those who haven't seen the theatrical cut, I say watch this one instead of the original version as this makes a little more sense than the final product. As for everyone else, I wouldn't bother as you can look up the few changes on YouTube by now and I wouldn't suggest anyone torture themselves for 3+ hours just to watch this in its entirety again if you didn't like it the first go-round.